Pack Your Bags for IrelandTown

Longing for a pint in a Irish Pub? Wishing you were getting your face painted at a St Patrick’s Day Parade? Dreaming of setting sail on a Galway Hooker? Tourism Ireland’s new Facebook game invites everyone to Ireland… well, the digital wonderland they’ve created.

The game combines Irish landmarks, traditions, and hungover sheep. Your strawberry blonde “guide” recommends you start things off by building a nostalgic little thatched cottage… so you can start collecting rent. Considering Irish history, that seems a bit odd, but maybe I’ve been reading too much about The Famine lately.

What’s most amazing… they let you take a bus to the Aran Islands!

I haven’t figured out all the bells and whistles yet… or how to earn more of the coveted “Experience” points without annoying my friends with IrelandTown postcards, but it seems like an entertaining way to kill some time, and learn a bit about Ireland in the process.

IrelandTown is a First

Ireland is the first national tourist board to try using this type of game to promote their country. “Tourism Ireland is constantly looking at innovative ways of reaching potential holidaymakers and we are increasingly using social media to do so, growing the online conversation about Ireland around the world.”

2 Comments

I gave it a try. Seems like a real time-waster to me. But – hey – I’ve seen the real thing. What do I need a fake Irish town for? Besides I hate Monopoly and that is what it seems like. I think TI will get lots of “likes” on Facebook so people can try it. But how many will actually stick around to play and return repeatedly? I wonder how many tax-payer euros it took to create?